


Life in Hespera

by CheapGold



Category: Original Work
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Military, Romance, Science Fiction, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23753941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheapGold/pseuds/CheapGold
Summary: Andro is a nineteen year old who live on a distant technologically advanced planet that's tidally locked to its star. He is in training to become a East Wall Guardian to protect the people of Latona-- a massive city with a population of two billion--. When he stumbles upon the death of an innocent scientist, his life only becomes more chaotic as he struggles with aliens, robots, friendships, love and discovering his true self.





	Life in Hespera

**Author's Note:**

> This story is in its writing process so YOUR feedback is wanted. Whether you are a fellow author or a valued reader, comment what you liked and/or disliked.

The deep and distant rumble of an explosion echoed through the city, creeping into the back of people's minds. There was a flicker of light but Andro couldn't pinpoint exactly where it came from. The supermarket was now silent, people were waiting for the outcome of this explosion but after a few long seconds had passed, one by one people continued to shop. 

Andro gazed beyond the glass front of the supermarket, seeing the towering skyscrapers and the massive Great East Wall. The explosion happened in that direction, beyond the Great East Wall and on the outside of the enormous city. Andro rarely came to this shop, or this part of town, it just happened that it was close to where he worked -- the military base in the east wall. 

All the shoppers had resumed to normalities but there was an eerie stigma in the air, still and dry. Everyone was thinking the same, the worry and anxiety slowly smouldering in the back of their minds. Although the view from the shop revealed sights of the city that Andro had never witnessed before. It was dark, eternally night but the artificial lights, large advertisement and neon lights all revealed the intricate transportation and infrastructure. 

After a few simple beeps, Andro's attention was pulled back to what was in front of him, the female cashier who was scanning the few items he wanted. Wait, she wasn't human and the small tattoo under her left eye showed that. The small cog wheel that all human resembling robots had to have. "Is that all sir?" The robot asked. She really did look human, the tattoo being the only distinguishable feature. 

"Yes, thank you." Andro looked at his phone to check the time while the cashier packed the bag for him. He was running a bit late, only having just enough time to make it to work, but at least he was already in uniform so he could save some time when he got to work. 

He had only been in the army for a few months, so wasn't given one if the advanced suits yet, for now a jacket with a vest on top with a pair of boots would suffice. Of course the army logo was printed all over it to show his status. The robot finished packing his things and held out the bag, "have a good day!" Andro took the bag with a little nod before making his way out of the shop. 

But before he could even reach the exit there was a sudden flash of piercing light followed by an eruption of sound that pounded throughout the city. Once the low rumble that followed ceased and the shelves stopped shaking, there was nothing to be heard apart from one old man. "That one was fucking loud as shit."

The old man was small and frail in stature, standing beside the exit. He spoke with a grimace infecting his face. Where the enormous explosion had been, there was a bright purple neon light that slowly dwindled to darkness. Andro wasn't told there would be explosions, nor ever told why they would use such extreme measures this close to the city. He was just as clueless as everyone else. 

"I wonder what those useless fuckers are doing over there." The old man snorted, hatred and despise lacing his tone. The shabby man slowly shuffled towards Andro, glancing at the other people in the shop who were all secretly staring. 

This time no one resumed their shopping, all waiting for what was going to unfold in front of them. The old man smacked his gums before looking out the window and violently coughing. After regaining his breath, the man continued to walk and grumbled, "I've lived here for fifty-eight fucking years." He spoke loud, obnoxiously. "I still ain't get told shit." The man wobbled in his broken walking stick, his clothes covered in stains and damage. 

Everyone kept quiet as the man now was only a few feet away from Andro. Slowly, a wrinkled and worn hand with blisters and yellow nails was lifter up with two pointing and accusative fingers. "You." The low grumble was quiet, the man's brown eyes infiltrated Andro as he spat, "You're one of those bastards." Andro's eyes widened at the strong words, breath halting. He internally winced as the man's hand jabbed his shoulder violently, shoving him back in the process. 

"What shit is happenin' over there?" With these words everyone leaned in, eager to know, frightening of the unknown. Andro searched for salvation but nothing appeared. Once the question sunk in and he untangled the words, he realised he didn't. Blinking and gulping, he knew he couldn't leave without telling them something. 

"I don't know." He honestly looked around but it seemed that only enraged the people more and in a few seconds there was shouting from many different opinions. "What does that mean?" A severely overweight woman with an amputated leg shouted from the other side of the tills. "What secrets are you people keeping?" Another lady shouted and soon it was half of the shop trying to demand questions. 

"I don't know… b-but!" Andro managed to gain some sort of attention to explain himself. "If it was bad, dangerous even… for you, they would probably tell you." He tried to give a reassuring smile but he just ended up looking awkward. "Definitely tell you! They would definitely, definitely tell you." Andro fixed his last statement. Thankfully people seemed to be okay with that, not satisfied but okay. 

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and rested on his cheek as he waited for an outburst but it never came. Lowering his head in defeat, Andro left the shop quickly, hearing murmurs and more slurs thrown at him as he left.

A rush of polluted wind hit him. At this sheer height from the ground, winds were stronger with the massive mountain off to the south east of the city. It was so foggy that the ground of the city was hidden. Many hundreds of meters below the sky walkways was chaotic traffic, alarms echoing off the buildings. Light poured from the thousands of windows, bleeding into the polluted night. 

The sky walkways were made out of metal and glass, spanning many meters between towering skyscrapers. The one andro was walking along and was rather busy with many people commuting to work at this time. Andro was running late, after checking the time one again he realised he was still minutes away from the tram station and his tram would be there and second. 

Grabbing the bag tightly and sprinting along the walkway, he avoided colliding with people, secretly hoping no police were around to charge him for running on the sky walkway. Breath quickening and lungs aching, he pushed himself to go even faster as he neared the station and saw the tram was already there. Andro couldn't be late, he saw his commander fire cadets before because of being late. 

Close, but not close enough the doors began to slowly shut as everyone had boarded already. His legs were straining from the demand to go even faster. The doors were half closed, only fifty centimeters or so still open, now only forty, twenty. He was so close, running as fast as he could, shouting out for them to wait. Reaching his hand out and throwing himself at the door, his fingers were able to slip in just at the last second, sending the doors open again. 

Receiving a few odd looks from the commotion he made, people stepped back to make room for him and the doors shut behind him swiftly. Taking a few deep breaths and leaning against the wall, Andro closed his eyes for a moment, relieved that he made it. 

The tram came to life with a low hum that vibrated gently under his feet before slowly rolling away from the platform. In just a few seconds the tram had accelerated greatly before staying at a high constant speed. The large glass buildings zipped past the tram, winding through walkways and tunnels. 

Once the tram had been moving for five minutes or so, an expansive view of the city to the west was shown. It was bright, warm with starlight that was given from this planet's sun. The west half of the city was known as 'the city in endless dawn'. The planet was tidally locked, so just like the city of Latona, half of the planet was eternally shrouded in darkness while the other half was under blistering heat and starlight. 

Andro had never been to the brighter half of Latona, having heard that the rich and wealthy lived there in ease. It was nice to see the blue star that the planet orbited every once in a while. 

A few more minutes of gliding and the tram was nearly empty, only people who were going to the east wall were still aboard. The carriage was relaxed and tranquil even though the starlight was now gone and everything was illuminated with artificial light. Andro took a now empty seat, placing the plastic bag on his knees. He bought some food since his eighteen hour shift was definitely going to be tiring and he hadn't eaten yet, so he could snack on his break. 

It was the standard 'meal in a bar' product that he often bought. It contained two thousand calories and was branded as 'spicy' in flavour. Taking some time to recollect, Andro sighed as he remembered the supermarket today. It was fair to say that the military didn't have a good reputation as far as the Great East Wall was concerned. 

The tram pulled to a stop and Andro left the metal box once the doors had opened, stepping out onto the impressive platform that was beside the Great East Wall. There were many people walking around the platforms that stuck out of the mostly stone wall. The majority of the soldiers were boarding the tram, heading home as the shift changed. 

Andro walked close to the wall, squeezing past the crowds of people walking in the opposite direction as he tried to make his way to his locker. During this struggle, he was elbowed and his foot was stood on once or twice. Nevertheless after a five minute walk, Andro had reached the storage rooms and unlocked his locker by holding up his thumb against the scanner. Placing his bag in the metal container, he pulled out the bottle of water, popping the lid and taking a well needed hydration refill. He was a few minutes early so could take a little break in the empty storage room. 

Hearing a little scuffle from behind him, he already knew who it was. "boo!" A feminine voice said excitedly from somewhere behind him. Andro spilled and coughed a little on his water, not expecting her to be so close. "Jeez, since when were you the master of sneak attacks?" Andro wiped his mouth and put down the water bottle. Turning around revealed a chuckling Clara, slapping a hand on Andro's shoulder. "Oh since the big bang darling." Clara smiled proudly, eyes creasing and nose wrinkling. 

"You're early, again." She plopped down on the bench beside the lockers, folding one leg over the other and leaning back. A trickle of mischief lacing her tone, suggesting she was getting at something. "Yes. If I didn't get here at this time, I'd be late." He put the water back in the locker, securing the lid. It was true, if he got the later tram he'd be late. "Or…" Clara was smiling and holding onto the bench, swinging her legs. "Or?" Andro questioned dryly, closing the locker and attempting to dispel whatever double meaning andro had up his sleeve. 

After schooching beside her on the bench, Clara flung her arms and wrapped them around Andro tightly. "You want to impress Lieutenant Ignacio Santiago!" She shook both of them vigorously, Andro rolling his eyes as she attempted a Spanish accent. After a moment she freed him from her grasp, leaning forward to plant her face in Andro's view. "No." He said as if it was ridiculous. "Plus he doesn't even work this shift." Crossing his arms in defence, and tilting his head away. 

"Don't worry." Grabbing his hand and holding his thumb against the scanner she spoke. "I won't tell anyone your secret." She momentarily motioned zipping her mouth closed and throwing away the key before opening his locker and grabbing the calorie loaf he bought at the store today. Ripping open the packet and tearing off the touch corner, Clara chewed down on the food. "Want some?" Pulling his face out from his hands he nodded. "Yeah." Stealing the loaf and tearing a big chunk out. 

The loaf was dry and very chewy, brittle but sticky. It also only tasted as good as it smelled, smelling like burned popcorn. Sharing the rest of the loaf between the two of them, Clara spoke up, "Did you hear the explosions that happened earlier today?" Andro didn't take long to nod, swallowing food way before properly chewing and hurting his throat. "Yeah, civilians weren't too happy. Know anything about them?" 

"Yeah I got the inside scoop." She pulled her short, ashy brown silky hair, tightening the small pony tail. Andro was a little surprised. Clara and him were in the same platoon but she was a year younger, only eighteen. Either way no higher-ups would tell them anything. "Hm? Oh really. That's a little hard to believe." Andro paused eating and turned to face Clara. 

Clara spluttered. "I have my sneak attack don't I?" She gently poked the tip of his nose. "I can get anything I want." Joking, but he could see her get a little more serious as she scanned the room to make sure it was empty, leaning in a little. It was intriguing and Andro leaned in a little as well to hear everything clear enough. She whispered, "I heard there was an ambush of the aliens. Ten of them, right at the wall." 

Andro leaned back quickly, eyebrows furrowed, mouth open and mild shock in his brown eyes. "No way. There hasn't been a single alien sighting in years." He also had joined in on the whispering. "I know!" Clara exclaimed, waving her hands. "Are you sure? Ten!" He had leaned back in by this point. Clara nodded furiously. "One hundred and fifty percent." There was a flicker of someone light, hopeful in her eyes which was peculiar given the circumstances. 

"Hmm. That's really troubling…" Andro thought deeply but was shaken out of it by a bubbling Clara. "This is so exciting. Nothing like this has ever happened before!" She squeezed and creased her eyes with a smile, it was scary how she took this situation. "Well yeah… I suppose so." Andro could see how this was better than nothing, something to discuss and think about. 

"It's not like those aliens are going to get through the wall. It's huge!" Clara had a point but all discussion was cut off when Clara's earpiece glowed up in a bright blue colour. Clara's face was swept by concentration and focus, listening to the works that were broadcasted to her. Andro was quiet, picking up the now empty packet and shoving it in his jacket pocket. "I'm going to get going, to check the upper floors." She stood up, stretching and dusting off her clothes. "Alright. Thanks for eating half my dinner." He laughed and also stood up, receiving a gentle punch to the shoulder with a "See ya later!" 

She skipped through the door, down the west hall and out of sight. Andro retrieved his earpiece from his locker, putting it on carefully and turning it on. The little plastic metal contraption was the main way of communication with the military, and pretty handy. Closing his locker and making his way to his designated area for the night, Andro began work. 

A few hours into his shift Andro was left walking around the maze of hallways and rooms that were carved into the upper half of the Great East Wall. The wall was tall and wide enough to securely have hundreds of hallways and rooms within the wall, all used for military purposes. Taking strides down seemingly endless, white, windowless hallways. He was the only private in this area, and there didn't seem to be really anyone else around. What he was doing was known as wall duties. It was infamous for being mind numbingly boring, but maybe things would get interesting since it seemed aliens we're on the outside of the city wall earlier today. 

Andro sighed, pulling up his phone to see the map. Biting his lip and groaning, he was definitely not in the correct area. But it wouldn't cause any harm as far as Andro could tell. Continuing to walk on forward, he wished Clara was here, but her shift finished just a couple hours after his began. Alone at last. 

A set of stairs going up revealed themselves after a few more minutes of walking. Checking his map he discovered he was on the top of the inner floors and had stumbled upon stairs leading to the top of The Great East Wall. Curiosity capturing him tightly, after a quick scour of the hall to check he was alone, he sprinted up the stairs. 

Once reaching the top, he double checked that no lieutenants or officers were here to scold him. It seemed to only a few more privates scattered around at distance. Stepping into the actual wall itself, sand and small stones crunched beneath his boots. There was a strong wind, pulling him to the south east but he wasn't fazed. Walking up to the edge, he was met with the tremendous scene of the dark side of the planet. It was very cold even where he stood, his specially made jacket and trousers helped, but he could still feel it was close to freezing. 

To his right, far away was the staggering, sharp and extremely steep mountain that served Latona as a great natural land border. But directly in front of him was vast, vast stretches of darkness. There really wasn't anything to see. No starlight ever reached there, no humans could live in the freezing conditions, so it was left a void. Even when looking over the edge, he could just barely make out where the ground was, being so far down. 

One thing he could make out was a gentle purple glow. Small and fleeting, it lit up a crater on the floor of the far left of where Andro stood. For a split second he thought he saw something move down there, just a quick spark of movement. But he didn't see anything, no aliens. If there were ten here before, they were sure as hell killed by the explosions. 

Shivering, he decided it would be best to go back to where he was meant to be, or at least try. Strolling down the white steps before strolling along the corridor he was yet to have been. The floors were all dark, shiny grey and the walls were white and also surprisingly reflective. It seemed the long hallways somewhat came to an end with the hall turning off to the left down ahead. 

Deciding he should definitely walk back to go to his intended spot, he turned on his heels and made no effort to go fast. Bang! A loud sound resonated through the halls and Andro jumped and turned around. It definitely wasn't a bomb, no it sounded like a gun, one of the older ones from Earth. 

Turning back around and sprinting, Andro headed down the left hallway, frantically scanning for any accidents. It was his duty to protect the wall and the people, he had to make sure everyone was alright. Feet squeezing and body freezing, he could smell the fresh gunpowder in the air. In an open plan laboratory the pure white floor was stained with the pool of blood pouring out of the scientists head. 

There was a massive hole in his head that was ragged, showing parts of the man's brain, his shattered skull and the artery spurting out blood. Andro gasped, holding his breath for a few seconds. He took a step closer to the body, his legs were noodles and his hands pins and needles. The man was laying on his front, arms resting slumply beside his blood splatter body. The pool of blood kept on growing, infecting the innocent white floor with murder. 

Andro's eyes darted over the scene, checking behind himself as well in case the murderer was still around. Although the coast was clear and Andro ran off to the nearest office where a commander or lieutenant would be. Despite working in a violent job, that was the first time he'd seen someone who was dead. His throat tightened as his legs betrayed him, he was jelly. 

From the shadows a tall man holding a gun emerged. "Shit. He might have seen me." He said angrily into his earpiece. "You fucking told me no one would be in this area at this time!" He said even more infuriated, taking a quick snap of the dead body. He had very blue sage eyes which were exceedingly rare and wore a vintage suit. "Hey calm down Kaust." A female voice said from the other side of the earpiece. "You need to get out of there before anyone else has the chance to see you." Riley said. The blond man rolled his eyes and walked away from the body. "I'm calm." His knuckles turned white "I know, I've been doing this longer than you have." 

"The nearest exit is straight ahead, to your right then down the stairs." Kaust instantly began to run in that direction, the original plan being flung out the window. 

A few minutes later and Andro hat fetched the captain, showing them the dead body. The captain stood beside Andro for a moment, a few feet away from the body and lake. The wound in the back of his head wasn't bleeding as much now, the fragments of bullets protruding from the cold flesh. "Shit." Andro whispered harshly before doubling over, turning away and covering his mouth. Gripping onto the wall relentlessly, his stomach tried to repel his innards. Dry heaving, all that came up was saliva. Wiping his mouth with a shaking hand and sleeve, he tried to gain composure. "I'm sorry." His throat tightened, trying to stand straight again but his knees broke, soon colliding with the floor. 

But the captain didn't seem to care. Eyes forward and sad. "Dr. Robinson." The middle aged man said. The Captain grabbed his phone, calling the police. "Hello. Yes this is Captain Smith." There was a pause. Andro took deep breaths. He would never be paid any attention by the captain, so looking like a kid who can't handle one dead body was a terrible first impression. "There is a man dead within the east wall." Another pause. "Yes. I believe it was murder." Andro stood up slowly, leaning against the wall and making sure to not look at the murder scene again. "Thank you." The call ended and the captain turned to face Andro. "Come on boy, let's wait until the police get here." The captain spoke with empathy, walking away from the dead body and down the hall. 

Andro scrambled to his feet, following behind the Captain silently. 

"Kaust, you're not going to like this." Riley said with an edge to her tone. "What!" Kaust asked quickly, running down the stairs. "Do they have me on camera because you couldn't disable them?" Kaust jumped over the last few stairs and sprinted towards the doors. "No, all the cameras have been disabled." She scoffed. "But. The police have been called." Kaust was almost at the door, successful having avoided everyone apart from that one kid. "And they are going to come through that door." Riley said ever so casually and Kaust put on the breaks, skidding but running to the side. "For fucks sake! Where now!" He shouted, waiting for the next best route that would probably fuck up too. 

There were distant footsteps on the other side of the door. "Eek! They're right there!" Riley squeezed, smacking her keyboard. "To the left, left!" She shouted, "there's a door, I'll program your hand to unlock it." Kaust sprinted the short distance to the locked door to the left, holding his left hand against the scanner. But nothing happened yet and he could hear the footsteps clearly now. "Hurry up Riley!" 

"I know, I know." Within the second the door shot open and Kaust dived to the side before smacking the button to close the door on the inside. Just as the last fraction of the gap in the door closed, the front doors were burst open by the police. They all rushed right up the stairs. Kaust let his breath go. "Thank the stars they didn't see me." Getting up and tilting his head to stretch he asked. "Where to now?"   
"Thankfully you can just head back out that way. There are no cadets there." 

"You sure?" Kaust opened the door with his left, technologically advanced hand. "Yes I'm sure. Trust me."

Andro was led back to the captain's office where the captain held the door for him. "Feel free to take a seat." And Andro did just that, not wanting to risk his legs failing him again. Surprisingly the captain didn't sit on the other side of the desk, but rather he sat on the seat beside Andro, clasping his hands. "Are you alright?" The captain spoke surprisingly gently for a man with such a deep voice. Andro nodded but spoke up to be polite. 

"Yes captain. Just a little startled. That's all." Andro scratched the back of his hand and looked at the carpet. "It's alright to be scared." The captain picked something metallic off his desk. "What's your name private?" Andro looked up, trying to speak clearly. "Andromeda Mamiya, Sir. I am in the 91st cadet squad."

The room was small, filled with metal furniture and many file cabinets as well as many awards on the wall. "Thank you for what you did today Andromeda. I know it must have been difficult. But sometimes the hard thing to do is the right thing to do." The captain spoke with genuine sincerity. Andro cleared his throat and nodded. "Who was that man. I'm sorry, the one who well, is…" Dead. It felt disrespectful to say even though it was true. "Doctor Robinson. He was a scientist. A good man." 

They were both quiet, giving a moment of silence for the loss of his life. Although they were interrupted by a quick knock and entering of a private. "The police are here Sir." The Private said, opening the door fully to reveal five or so police officers. The captain stood up but looked down at Andro. "You can stay here if you want. I'm sure the police will want a statement from you." Andro nodded. It would definitely be strange to be sitting in the Captain's office while he would be gone, but he didn't want to see the body again. "And please, take this, you deserve it." The captain held out his hand and revealed a bronze medal. Andro gasped and looked up to the captain with surprise. "S-sir… are you sure?" The captain only nodded and placed the medal on the arm of the chair since andro made no efforts to take it. 

The captain left and Andro could hear them discussing details, although not able to pick up any information as they walked away from the office. 

Andro looked down at the bronze medal. It was small, about six or seven centimeters wide with a picture of a person standing on top of a pile, holding up a fist. Turning it over revealed the East Wall Guardians (EWG) logo. A small wall with a line of soldiers standing about carved beasts. The edge of the coin had "great people can do great things" edged into it with small stars between each word. The medal was attached to a ribbon with blue and white stripes, attached to a clip. Andro didn't know if he deserved it. He hadn't saved the man's life and he sure as hell wasn't enrolled as a EWG. Andro put it in his pocket securely.

Later on he was taken into questioning by two detectives, a well built man and fierce woman. Most of the questions were about what he'd seen and heard and when. But a few questions definitely seemed more aimed to him being a suspect. The detective asking things such as: "how did you know Dr. Robert?" Or "did you often see this man during work."

Sitting in the entirely empty room apart from the chair and table, detective Johnson, the intimidating lady, joined him with a coffee in her hand. She sat down in silence for an exceedingly long time, looking at the paperwork in her hand and then looking up to Andro. Then repeat. She was judging him, deciding whether or not she was trustworthy or not. "Why would anyone want to hurt Dr. Robinson?" She finally asked and looked at him with narrow dark eyes. 

Andro groaned and rubbed one of his eyes. "I don't know, I already told you. I didn't know the man before tonight." Andro had been here for over three hours now, it was degrading. "Do you want to know what it says here?" She said as if she had something that would win an argument. Curiosity piqued and a little panicked, Andro quickly sat up. "Yes." 

Although she didn't show him, she told him. "Andromeda Mamiya." She pointed at him. "you." She looked at him before looking back down to the papers. "Was assigned to do hall duty in sector E if the thirty first floor." She leaned forward, lips tight. "So why were you in sector B of the thirty second floor?" And as is just on time, the male detective walked in and closed the door behind him, standing in the corner and cracking his knuckles, muscles moving.

Andro looked at detective Johnson then back to the other detective, then looking back at Johnson. "No…" Andro whispered under his breath. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. "Please. I didn't touch doctor Robinson." The male detective took a few steps forward, his hands held in fists.


End file.
